You’re not ready for just how weird Season 51 of Saturday Night Live is going to be.
The void left in the wake of the 50th anniversary and the massive staff turnover will get filled, somehow, and by somebody or some bodies. And a “weird” season can yield all sorts of consequences, everything from birthing a new comedy superstar to potential for creative trainwrecks. Or this transitional season may come off as merely mediocre, lackluster or boring. But above all else, this is not the SNL you were expecting to see this October.
Certainly, fans may have anticipated a come-down from the emotional, big-name, award-winning highs of SNL50.
Just not like this.
It’s no longer worth speculating when Lorne Michaels will leave (again), as he didn’t use his golden jubilee for a triumphant swan song. And 40 years after he returned in Season 11 to helm the live variety series he had created 50 years ago, Lorne, who turns 81 in November, gives no public hints he may ever hand the show off. But lots of casual observers and super fans alike anticipated a change at the Weekend Update desk, where Colin Jost and Michael Che have reigned longer than any previous SNL alum. Instead of turning Update over to a younger straight man such as Michael Longfellow, Lorne showed Longfellow the door.
Similarly, longtime male cast members such as Kenan Thompson (since 2003), Mikey Day (writer since 2013, cast since 2016), and Andrew Dismukes (since 2017) keep sticking around. But the women? Surprise! We had to say goodbye to both Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim without a proper farewell in the SNL50 finale?!?
After three decades of strong female leads, from Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer, to Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler, to Kristin Wiig, to Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong, who’s going to take up that mantle now? Chloe Fineman specializes in celebrity impersonations, and Sarah Sherman has carved out a niche for her bizarre bravado, but will any of the three newer funny women in the cast take this opportunity to shine?
The four new hires as featured players may yet spawn a new star, but as I’ve noted previously, SNL hasn’t been in the business of minting comedy superstars for a while now. Which makes 2025-2026 either the perfect atmosphere or the worst for one of these four (Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska) to change all of that.
A look back at the other seasons following decennial anniversaries offers some possible predictors:
And then there was Season 41, a decade ago, which found Tim Robinson relegated in what would be his final season as a writer before finding his comedic voice and then some outside of 30 Rock. ‘Twas also the surprising end for both Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah.
Back here in 2025, we’re facing a new reality, with Ben Marshall joining the actual cast ending the Please Don’t Destroy era, which also marks the end of a two-decade run of awkward white boy trios making digital shorts for the show. Of course, SNL still retains a dedicated staff who, year-in, year-out, produce pre-taped vidoes that often outshine the live sketches.
And it’s not as though SNL doesn’t continue to grab a piece of the pop-culture zeitgeist, with Marcello Hernandez and Bowen Yang popping up all over the place, and Sarah Sherman earning her first solo HBO special this December for her Sarah Squirm persona.
So SNL 51 will have plenty to offer.
But how will it pay off? Will it, even? That’s the biggest unknown of this latest major transitional year for Emmy’s all-time biggest winner.